This
is it, the big payoff to Remender's run. And what a payoff it is! S
P O I L E R S abound from here on out, so if you haven't
read this yet and don't want it ruined, turn back now. You have been
warned...

Arnim
Zola is not dead. He tips his hand to reveal his long-gestating plan
to destroy New York City and every Avenger in it. He is working with
the Red Skull and brings his army from Dimension Z to invade New
York. Steve Rogers is down for the count as Captain America, as The
Iron Nail's removal of the Super Soldier Serum appears to be
permanent. (Yeah right.)

Without
giving you a blow by blow play by play, the Falcon saves the day and
with Steve's blessing becomes the new Captain America. Jet Black does
Arnim Zola's will by betraying him, with Zola manipulating the heroes
into betraying her, thus fulfilling his original plan. Not for
nothing is Arnim Zola considered a genius. Sharon Carter and Steve's
stepson from Dimension Z, Ian, are alive and well. Ian is now an
adult since time moves more swiftly in Dimension Z than it does here.
(Remember, in the first two volumes Cap was gone from our dimension
for a minute and twelve years elapsed there.)

The
movie incarnations of Iron Man, the Falcon, Thor, Nick Fury, and the
Hulk are all represented here. I don't have a problem with a singular
version of these characters existing across all platforms (print,
movies, cartoons, video games, etc.) so long as they are consistent.
Iron Man in particular flies in the face of his established
personality in print. On screen you have Robert Downey Jr. carrying
the snark, but on the printed page he comes off as a smug prick. To
the civilians out there who walked into the comics this is fine. To
me it is fine only so long as they make this a consistent thing and
move forward with it. I would rather have the comics be accessible to
the masses, so this singular version works as long as they keep it
going forward. I want comics to survive.

I
am glad that my local library had Vols. 3-5, as I always wondered how
this run ended. I dropped it after the first two books in the line
because there are too many books from too many publishers offered for
me to afford following everything that I would like to. This was a
satisfying read that would even be worth paying for.